Local Brands: From Online to On-site Bazaars

Even in the age of online shopping, there is still a strong demand for offline retail experiences. Egyptian local brands are, therefore, racing to have their brick-and-mortar shops or join the abundant offline bazaars targeting those still longing for in-store experiences and applying online-to-offline (O2O) commerce strategy.

O2O commerce is a new retail strategy aimed at bringing potential customers from online channels to physical stores to make a purchase. With the   O2O   commerce   market set to hit $422 billion by 2027, small local brands find it a lucrative opportunity to gain ground, directing their online customers to offline locations, such as brick-and-mortar shops, or most commonly, the event venues called bazaars.

While some well-known Egyptian local brands started as online shops on Facebook or Instagram and managed to quickly grow and open their brick-and-mortar shops, others are still in the early stages and cannot afford to open stores due to high operating costs (employees and rent). They tend to participate in events and bazaars to meet their clients’ offline and present their products to a wider range of buyers.

Research shows that 61% of shoppers would rather buy from brands that also have a physical location, as it allows customers to chat with sales representatives, touch products in person, and get the in-store experience.

Meanwhile, as local brands started heading to bazaars to convert e-commerce visitors into offline sales and as an alternative to having brick-and-mortar shops, many startup companies were launched specializing in organizing exhibitions and bazaars, capitalizing on the current traffic.

“We have just launched   our   first   bazaar in June in Sheikh Zayed, targeting small local brands. Bazaars help the local brands see their success in real life, grow and develop their businesses, and gain   more   exposure both on the ground and on social media plat- forms,” said Ahmed Hesham, owner of Eventure Company, to Business Today Egypt (BT).

Hesham added that e-commerce stores that operate online only can join bazaars, giving customers the opportunity to see, touch, and interact with their products, thus boosting their sales, especially during the summer.